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Prathima Nandakumar
Prathima Nandakumar

Karnataka

Act and operate like a prime minister: Rahul Gandhi tells Modi

rahul-gandhi-ji-bluru Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi | PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has created an environment of hatred and anger in Kashmir, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said while addressing the sadhana samavesh rally in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Modi's policy has given space for Pakistan to play mischief, the Congress leader added.

“For the last many years, we (UPA) studied Kashmir and worked hard to bring peace to Jammu and Kashmir and had even succeeded in it. But it was destroyed in one month by the Modi government. If Kashmir is peaceful, Pakistan can do nothing against India. But Modi's domestic and foreign policy has ruined it all,” said Rahul, slamming the NDA government for having “alienated” friendly neighbouring countries.

“For the first time, Russia is selling arms to Pakistan. All the neighbours except Pakistan and China were our allies, but this has changed now. Nepal is alienated. China is building port in Sri Lanka. When Modi was welcoming and embracing the Chinese president, more than 1,000 Chinese soldiers had infiltrated into India. Can Modi explain what are the Chinese forces doing in Bhutan? It is time for the prime minister to start acting and operating like one. He represents the spirit of the people of India. Empty speeches and slogans will not do.”

Taking a dig at Modi's Independence Day speech, Rahul said the speech was growing shorter by the day as the NDA government has little to boast of.

“The prime minister's speech last year was 54 minutes long, but this year it was 45 minutes. I will not be surprised if he speaks only for 15 minutes next year as he has run out of issues to speak. If he is professing Swachch Bharat, we have a message of “Sach Bharat” and Modi has no idea about the truths of India,” mocked Rahul.

Addressing a huge gathering at the National College grounds, Rahul told the audience that he would tell them what the PM did not speak of at the Red Fort on Independence Day.

“Youth are the strength of the nation, yet Modi created less than one lakh jobs last year though he had promised two crore jobs. But the Siddaramaiah (Congress) government has created 30,000 government jobs in Karnataka alone. Modi's healthcare policy, which has cut the health budget, was responsible for the death of 90 children in Gorakhpur as the hospitals could not buy oxygen. Modi wants a India where the rich go to private hospitals and the poor die in government hospitals,” he said.

Rahul warned the Modi government that his party will force the government change its policies. “When the issue of the Centre waiving farm loans was raised, Jaitley said it was not their policy, and expected the states to do it. While the Congress governments in both Karnataka and Punjab announced a farm loan waiver, it took us a lot of effort to get the BJP ruled UP and Maharashtra governments to waive the farm loans.”

Veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge taunted the NDA stating that their “sab ka saat sab ka vikas” was helping none but the RSS and the BJP leaders.

“Modi is a dictator and the country is under an undeclared emergency,” said Kharge, adding that it was Modi who decided what people had to eat.

“There is mob lynching of minorities and dalits and women are not safe. Even a politician with SPG security like Rahul Gandhi is attacked in Gujarat. I wish the five ministers who sat outside EC to register protest against Congress candidate's victory in Rajya Sabha should have asked questions over Doklam crisis in the Parliament,” said Kharge.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hit back at BJP national president Amit Shah who had dubbed the Siddaramaiah government as the “most corrupt” government in the country.

“Amit Shah has made baseless allegations. Let me remind him that he was jailed as the home minister in Gujarat, and his partymen Yeddyurappa, Janardhana Reddy and Krishnaiah Setty were all behind bars on charges of corruption. If there is a scam free and corruption free government in the country, it is in Karnataka. Shah has no words when asked about the Panama papers in Madhya Pradesh or the corruption in Rajasthan. The state BJP has three factions led by Yeddyurappa and Shobha, Ananthkumar and Eshwarappa. So, Shah had come don to give them a sound lesson,” Siddaramaiah said.

“Shah has mentioned about unspent Central grants. I now realise he is only a criminal strategist and not an election strategist. Now, who is Shah to ask me? I am only answerable to the people of Karnataka and the state legislature.”

“It is only Shah's ignorance to say that Karnataka has got Rs 2.49 lakh crore. The finance commission has allotted Rs 10,02,000 crore, but we have received only Rs 92,342 crore. What happened to the Rs 10,000 crore? It is our share. Why did the Centre not release it?,” asked Siddaramaiah.  

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